Former Fulham defender Paintsil arrested for stabbing wife in the eye

The Ghana international is in police custody for stabbing his wife in the eye on Friday over allegations of sleeping with prostitutes during the Africa Cup of Nations

Ghana defender John Paintsil has been arrested by the Legon Police in Accra for allegedly stabbing his wife, Richlove, in the eye on Friday afternoon.

The 31-year-old has been denied bail and is likely to spend the weekend in police cells to help with investigations, the Greater Accra Regional Police Command has confirmed to Goal.com.

The police have also confirmed they are holding the former Fulham and West Ham player for assault and causing harm.

According to reports, Paintsil was confronted by his wife following rumours he slept with some prostitutes during the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations tournament in South Africa.

The allegation was first made by football enthusiast and social commentator Appiah Kofi popularly known as Appiah Stadium in a radio interview.

Appiah alleged that the veteran defender was responsible for bringing women to the Black Stars camp to have sexual intercourse with them and this culminated in the team’s poor output at the Afcon.

Paintsil, however, denied the allegation and threatened to drag Appiah Stadium to court to clear his name.

The wife of the defender is reported to have questioned Paintsil on several occasions since the issue broke, but the former West Ham defender lost his temper on Friday and attacked his wife stabbing her in the eye.

Speaking to Accra-based Citi FM, the Public Relations Officer of the Accra Police Command, DSP Freeman Tettey said: “This is a clear case of causing harm to a fellow human being.”

“He will be taken to court. We can assure you that. We are holding him for causing harm. We need to do proper investigations. It's too early to get to the realm of court issues.”

Paintsil also attacked a neighbour who attempted to rescue his wife, according to police.

The wife is said to be unconscious after sustaining serious injuries to her eye and is currently at a nearby hospital receiving treatment.